Radiators



April 19, 1966 G, 5 LA PQRTE ETAL 3,246,691

RADIATORS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 27, 1963 INVENTOR. J e ear Gem lq/ w'zc April 1966 G. E. LA FORTE ET AL 3,246,691

RADIATORS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Nov. 2'7, 1965 FIGZ PIIIIIIIIIIIII N R r T m A Nr r7 E a w a W MN .m e m W Y B April 1966 G. E. LA PORTE ET AL 7 3,246,691

RADIATORS 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Nov. 2'7, 1963 FIG. 5

I NVEN TOR. Jive o A Z 94 P April 19, 1966 G. 5. LA PORTE ET AL RADIATORS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Nov. 27, 1965 T e M W W Z r V w 2. A A

mzhw D dm United States Patent 3,245,691 p RADIATORS 'Gcrald E. La Porte, Buffalo, Joseph D. Lear, Snyder, and William C. Whitcher, Kenmore, N.Y., assignors to Fedders Corporation, Edison, NJ.

Filed Nov. 27, 1963, Ser. No. 325,404 9 Claims. c1. 165--151) This invention relates to improvements in the structure and method of manufacture of automotive radiators, car heaters, and similar heat exchange devices.

It is an object of the invention to improve the structural relationship of the components of a radiator so that it is more capable of withstanding the strains and vibration encountered on the road, and also able to resisthigher internal pressure than current radiators. This has been accomplished .by devising parts that are particularly adapted to both effective assembly operation and to mutual reinforcement after integration by soldering. This assembly concept in turn permits the integration .of the entirestructure in one soldering operation, thus obviating any necessity, of reheating which heretofore has been widely accepted as necessary in radiator assembly, and which has long been recognized as the cause of weakened joint structures and the frequency of leaks encountered in service. It is a further objectof the invention to provide a novel assembly which permits a method of assembly resulting in speed and accuracy in line production. This objective is attained by devising the parts so that the assembly is self-jigging, and that during the process, exterior aids such as carrying frames and the like are entirely eliminated, and the radiators may be baked under the most favorable conditions. The nature of these and other improvements and the advantages attached thereto, will be made apparent as this description proceeds and the novelty will be pointed out in the appended claims.

FlGUREl is an exploded perspective view of the radiator of the invention.

FIGURES 2 and 3 are front views of the radiator during successive stages in final assembly.

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view on the line 55 of FIGURE 3.

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary section on the line 6--6 of FIGURE 4.

, FIGURE 7 is a diagrammatic view showing the radiator being conveyed through flux and heating operations.

FIGURE 8 is a section on the line 8-8 of FIGURE 7.

FIGURE 9 is a diagrammatic view showing a method of forming and integrating the tank of the invention.

FIGURES l0 and 11 are enlarged sections on the line 1010 and 1111 of FIGURE 9.

FIGURE 12 is a cross-section through a tank having an interlocking joint.

' FIGURE 13 is a diagrammatic top view of the strip of material of FIGURE 9 before the forming operation.

" FIGURE 14 is a section on the line 14 14 of FIG- URE 9.

The radiator 9 of the invention as shown in its preassembled form in FIGURE 1, includes a core 10 of the cellular-tubular type having fiat solder covered tubes 11 and interposed zig-zagged fins 12 of familiar type. Top and bottom tanks 13 and 14, respectively, are formed with flat header areas 15 and 16, respectively, which areas each contain two rows of flanged openings 15a and 16a which receive the ends of the tubes 11. Punched solder sheets are disposed over the tube ends before this 0 pressive load and prevent expansion of the core.

tively tight fit (FIGURES 5 and 6).

assembly to afford a supply of solder for the tube to header joints in a later heating operation.

The tanks 13 and 14, except for the header areas 15 and 16, are preferably, although not necessarily, cylindrical in form, each having longitudinal joints, which joints may take the form of a butt braze 18 or an interlocking joint 19 (FIGURES l1 and 12, respectively). The open ends of the top tank receive a filler fitting cap 21 and an inlet fitting cap 22, while the ends of the bottom tank 14 receive an outlet fitting cap 23 and a sealing cap 24. The ends of the tanks 13 and 14 in the header area thereof are provided with integral depending lugs 13b and 1412, respectively, which serve in the assembly method which will presently be described. It

will be observed that the fittings and caps enter the tanks internally with a snug fit and that additionally such members are formed with circumferential grooves 21a, 22a, 23a, 24a for receiving solder wire inserts 21b, 22b, 23b, 24b, which later will melt to provide interfitting joints with the tanks 13 and 14.

The projecting caps serve as trunnion-like mounts for sidewalls 25 (FIGURE 1) which are formed at their extremities 25a with flanged openings 26 and 26a which are adapted to-be engaged over such caps with a rela- It will be observed that solder inserts or wires 27 are interposed between the ends of the tanks and the flanged openings 26, 26a. The body 28 of each sidewall is of flat channel formation having openings 29 for attachment of the radiator unit to suitable chassis members of an automobile. The junctures of the extremities 25a and the body 28 of each sidewall 25 are formed with a Z bend 31 which is pierced as indicated by the numeral 32 to receive the described lugs 13b or 14b of the tanks 13 and 14. Adjacent the openings 32 the body 28 contains struck out tabs 33 which may be forced down from the dotted position shown in FIGURE 6 to bend the underlying lugs and thus prevent their removal and displacement of the tanks 13 and 14 from the assembly.

It is proposed, as will be hereinafter more apparent, to integrate the above described assembly in a single heating to melt the solder sheets 20 and the various solder inserts so that upon coiling, all of the parts are effectively joined.

In assembling the parts, the sidewalls 25 serve as part of an assembly fixture, and, as shown in FIGURE 2, the fins and tubes in succession are stacked row upon row upon the base of one sidewall 25 to build up a core mass which otherwise is the customary procedure. The second sidewall 25 is then applied from the opposite side of the core, and, during this application, considerable pressure is applied to this sidewall to compress the core mass so that the tubes 11 are spaced to the desired center distance. This permits the tanks 13 and 14 to be entered upon the projecting ends of the tubes with suitable mechanical aids (FIGURE 3). It will be noted that as the tanks are pressed upon the tube ends that the lugs 13b and 14b formed from blank connectors 30 (FIG- URE 13) thereof enter the slots 32 at the sidewalls. The lugs are subsequently bent over as shown in FIGURE 6 to prevent subsequent disassembly of the tanks or expansion of the core mass. The fitting caps 21, 22, 23, and the sealing cap 24, are now inserted through the openings 26 and 26a in the sidewalls through solder washers 27, and into the now aligned ends of their respective tanks to complete the assembly.

The pressure upon the core mass may now be released and it will be seen that the sidewalls now resist the com- In abnormal cases where cores are extremely large, supporting struts 35 placed in tension are utilized to reinforce the sidewalls. As shown in FIGURE 1, the struts 35 are formed with heads 36 on their extremities which enter keyhole slots 37 in the sidewalls to provide for ease of assembly and disassembly at. the end of the process. The assembled radiator with the sidewalls and tanks serving as their own jigs and carriers are hung from a continuous conveyor C which carries the radiator and completely submerges it in a flux bath F, a draining zone D for the flux, and thence through an oven operating at approximately 650 F. for a period long enough to melt all of the solder and to permit the solder to penetrate the joints between tubes and header areas and between the tanks, fittings and sidewall assembly. FIG- URE 8 shows diagrammatically a blower B which blows heated air transversely of the oven 0 and thus through the core.

During this heating process, the strains on the sidewall connections with the tanks are gradually relieved due both to the slight annealing of the very light copper fins 12 and to the melting of the solder on the tubes 11. Thus, when the radiator emerges from the oven 0 and after it is cooled, it may be removed from the conveyor C in completely finished form, except in cases where the struts 35 have been included in the assembly and accordingly must be removed. It is anticipated that in some cases the sidewalls may be structurally weak when dictates of automotive rather than radiator engineers must be followed. In such cases, one or more of the struts may be left permanently in the assembly as eflective reinforcing aids,

In reference to sub-assemblies, the method of forming the tanks 13 and 14 is worthy of note as shown in FIG- URES 9 to 13, inclusive, only the tank 13 being discussed here. It will be seen that flat coil material 40 is stamped with the header flanges 15a, while the material is in its flat state. This is done in a press P where the blanks 41 are also notched to define the lugs 30, which lugs serve as spacers and joining means between successive blanks 41. The connected blanks 41 delivered from the press P are then directed through a roll forming machine generally designated at 42 of a conventional type well known in the art where each blank is bent around to its cylindrical configuration and the ends during this process are joined either by a butt braze joint 18 (FIGURE 11) or with an interlocking joint 19 (FIG- URE 12). As the now completed tanks emerge from the roll forming machine 42, they are cut ofl through the lugs, as indicated at 43, to complete the sub-assembly or by other well known means.

It will be seen from the foregoing that there is provided a radiator including its fittings and sidewalls which has been subjected but once to solder-melting temperatures and to the accompanying expansion and contraction stresses, to the end that a more rigid and leak-proof structure is provided than in the prior art where repeated reheatings have long been recognized as a major cause of structural weaknesses. It will be understood that the precise geometrical forms of the tanks and sidewalls of the invention herein described may be widely varied without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts thereof except as stated in the following claims.

We claim:

1. In a radiator, a core of the cellular-tubular type having elongated tubes and fins of zig-zag formation disposed between and abutting said tubes, a tank extending across each end of said core, each tank having a header area including a fiat portion formed therein containing flanged openings receiving common tube ends, the remainder of each of said tanks being of substantially tubular formation having open ends, a cap disposed on each open end of said tanks and formed to provide interfitting joints with the ends of the tanks to provide enclosures communicating with each other through the tubes, inlet and filler means in one of said enclosures, outlet means for the remaining enclosure, a pair of sidewalls each having a planar body portion contacting a side of said core and projecting ends containing an orifice engaging about the adjacent caps, and solder means on said tubes and interfitting parts integrating said radiator upon application of heat.

2. In a radiator, a core of the cellular-tubular type having elongated tubes and fins of zig-zag formation disposed between said tubes, a tank extending across each end of said core, each tank having a flat header area formed therein containing flanged openings receiving common tube ends, the remainder of each of said tanks being of substantially tubular formation having open ends, a cap disposed on each open end of said tank and formed to provide interfitting joints with the ends of the tanks to provide enclosures communicating with each other through the tubes, inlet and filler means in one of said enclosures, outlet means for the remaining enclosures, a pair of sidewalls, each having a planar body portion contacting a side of said core and projecting ends each containing an orifice for engaging the adjacent caps, interengaging means on the tanks and sidewalls for locating the sidewalls axially with respect to said tubular tanks, and solder means on said tubes and interfitting parts integrating said radiator upon application of heat.

3. In a radiator, a core consisting of rows of parallel tubes and fins disposed on said tubes to retain the tubes in spaced relation, a tank extending across each end of said core, each tank having a fiat header area formed therein containing flanged openings receiving common tube ends, the remainder of each of said tanks being of substantially tubular formation having open ends, a cap disposed on each open end of said tanks and formed to provide interfitting joints with the ends of the tanks to provide enclosures communicating with each other through the tubes, inlet and filler means in one of said enclosures, outlet means for the remaining enclosure, a pair of sidewalls each having a body disposed adjacent to a side of said core and projecting ends each containing an orifice engaging about adjacent caps, and solder means on said tubes and interfitting parts integrating said radiator upon application of heat.

4. In a radiator, a core of the cellular-tubular type having elongated tubes and fins of zig-zag formulation disposed between and abutting said tubes, a tank extending across each end of said core, said tanks being of substantially tubular formation having a chordal fiat portion, said chordal portion having flanged openings formed therein to provide a header for receiving common tube ends of said core, a cap disposed on each open end of said tanks and formed to provide interfitting joints with the ends of the tanks to provide enclosures communicating with each other through the tubes, inlet and filler means in one of said enclosures, outlet means for the remaining en closure, a pair of sidewalls, each having a body portion shaped to contact a side of said core, and projecting ends each containing an orifice engaging about the adjacent cap, and solder means on said tubes and interfitting parts integrating said radiator upon application of heat.

5. In a radiator, a core having elongated tubes and fins of zig-zag formation disposed between said tubes and abutting said tubes, a tank extending across each end of said core, each tank having a flat header area formed therein containing flanged openings receiving common tube ends, the remainder of each of said tanks being of substantially tubular formation having open ends, a cap disposed on each open end of said tanks, and each cap being formed with an end portion adapted to be snugly received within the end of a tank to provide enclosures communicating with each other through the tubes, inlet and filler means in one of said enclosures, outlet means for the remaining enclosure, a pair of sidewalls each having a planar body portion contacting a side of said core and projecting ends each containing a flanged orifice engaging about the adjacent cap, and solder means on said tubes and interfitting parts integrating said radiator upon application of heat.

6. In a radiator, a core having elongated tubes and fins of zig-zag formation disposed between said tubes and abutting said tubes, a tank extending across each end of said core, each tank having a flat header area formed therein containing flanged openings for receiving common tube ends, the remainder of each of said tanks being of substantially tubular formation having open ends, a cap disposed on each open end of said tanks, and each cap being formed with an end portion adapted to be snugly received within the end of a tank to provide enclosures communicating with each other through the tubes, inlet and filler means in one of said enclosures, outlet means for the remaining enclosure, a pair of sidewalls each having a planar body portion contacting a side of said core and projecting ends each containing a flanged orifice engaging about the adjacent cap, struts extending across a face of the core and secured to the sidewalls to provide tension reinforcements, and solder means on said tubes and interfitting parts integrating said radiator upon application of heat.

7. In a radiator, a core having elongated tubes and fins of zig-zag formation disposed between said tubes and abutting said tubes, a tank extending across each end of said core, each tank having a flat header area formed therein containing flanged openings receiving common tube ends, the remainder of each of said tanks being of substantially tubular formation having open ends, a cap disposed on each open end of said tanks to provide enclosures communicating with each other through the tubes, inlet and filler means in one of said enclosures, outlet means for the remaining enclosure, and each cap being formed with an end portion adapted to be snugly received within the end of a tank, a pair of sidewalls each having a body portion shaped to contact a side of said core and projecting ends each containing a flanged orifice engaging about the adjacent cap, and solder means on said tubes and interfitting parts integrating said radiator upon application of heat.

8. In a radiator, a core of the cellular-tubular type having elongated tubes and fins of zig-zag formation disposed between said tubes and abutting said tubes, a tank extending across each end of said core, each tank having a fiat header area formed therein containing flanged openings receiving common tube ends, the remainder of each of said tanks being of substantially tubular formation having open ends, a cap disposed on each open end of said tanks and formed to provide interfitting joints with the ends of the tanks to provide enclosures communicating with each other through the tubes, inlet and filler means in one of said enclosures, outlet means for the remaining enclosure, a pair of sidewalls each having a planar body portion contacting a side of said core and projecting ends containing an orifice engaging about the adjacent caps, mechanical connection means between each end of said header area of each tank and an adjacent end portion of said sidewalls, and solder means on said tubes and interfitting parts integrating said radiator upon application of heat.

9. In a radiator, a core having elongated tubes and fins of zig-zag formation disposed between said tubes and abutting said tubes, a tank extending across each end of said core, each tank having a flat header area formed therein containing flanged openings receiving common tube ends, the remainder of each of said tanks being of substantially tubular formation having open ends, a cap disposed on each open end of said tanks, and each cap being formed with an end portion adapted to be snugly received within the end of a tank to provide enclosures communicating with each other through the tubes, inlet and filler means in one of said enclosures, outlet means for the remaining enclosure, a pair of sidewalls each having a planar body portion contacting a side of said core and projecting ends each containing a flanged orifice engaging about the adjacent cap, struts extending across a face of the core and secured to the sidewalls to provide tension reinforcements, mechanical connection means between each end of said header area of each tank and an adjacent end portion of said sidewalls, and solder means on said tubes and interfitting parts integrating said radiator upon application of heat.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,407,929 2/1922 Cole -152 1,522,404 1/1925 Albach 165-152 1,899,629 2/1933 Morse 165-149 X 1,948,149 2/1934 Wentworth 165-175 X 2,024,496 12/1935 Young 165-151 X 2,184,658 12/1939 Young 165-79 2,252,211 8/1941 Seemiller 165-151 X 2,308,119 1/1943 Spieth 165-149 X 2,558,952 7/1951 Hayward 29-1573 2,686,957 8/1954 Koerper 29-1573 2,887,097 5/1959 Huffman et a1 165-149 X 3,027,142 3/1962 Albers et a1 165-149 X FREDERICK L. MATTESON, JR., Primary Examiner.

CHARLES SUKALO, Examiner. 

1. IN A RADIATOR, A CORE OF THE CELLULAR-TUBULAR TYPE HAVING ELONGATED TUBES AND FINS OF ZIG-ZAG FORMATION DISPOSED BETWEEN AND ABUTTING SAID TUBES, A TANK EXTENDING ACROSS EACH END OF SAID CORE, EACH TANK HAVING A HEADER AREA INCLUDING A FLAT PORTION FORMED THEREIN CONTAINING FLANGED OPENINGS RECEIVING COMMON TUBE ENDS, THE REMAINDER OF EACH OF SAID TANKS BEING OF SUBSTANTIALLY TUBULAR FORMATION HAVING OPEN ENDS, A CAP DISPOSED ON EACH OPEN END OF SAID TANKS AND FORMED TO PROVIDE INTERFITTING JOINTS WITH THE ENDS OF THE TANKS TO PROVIDE ENCLOSURES COMMUNICATING WITH EACH OTHER THROUGH THE TUBES, INLET AND FILLER MEANS IN ONE OF SAID ENCLOSURES, OUTLET MEANS FOR THE REMAINING ENCLOSURE, A PAIR OF SIDEWALLS EACH HAVING A PLANAR BODY PORTION CONTACTING A SIDE OF SAID CORE AND PROJECTING ENDS CONTAINING AN ORIFICE ENGAGING ABOUT THE ADJACENT CAPS, AND SOLDER MEANS ON SAID TUBES AND INTERFITTING PARTS INTEGRATING SAID RADIATOR UPON APPLICATION OF HEAT. 